1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to automated design systems, particularly to such systems for modeling and simulating systems with multi-disciplinary signals therein.
2. Background of the Invention
Computer-aided engineering and design (CAE/CAD) software and hardware tools are used for automating the process of defining (i.e., "modeling") and verifying (i.e., "simulating") prototype system designs. Most CAE/CAD tools are designed to function in substantially a single discipline using a limited set of signal types or quantities--typically the electrical discipline using voltage and/or current signal types. However, modeling languages allow users to describe models for components from any technical discipline, including electrical, mechanical, thermal, optical, chemical, and fluidic technologies. A modeling language should support models developed for particular disciplines, and should also support models that can be used in any discipline.
To enable multi-disciplinary system design, however, it is necessary, among other things, to support the modeling of various signal types or "quantities", such as voltage, current, energy, velocity, flux, flow, acceleration, heat, weight, length, and the like, at interconnection points or nodes in the system design. In addition, a simulator generally needs a rough estimate of how large the signals are expected to be (e.g., 10.sup.6- amperes and 10.sup.9 grams). Accordingly, there is a need for an improved tool to model signals with various different quantities.